I don't know you, but most likely at some time in your life you must have heard/read the following sentence: The Amazon is the Lungs of the World!”. But will it really be? Check out!
The Amazon is the Lungs of the World! This sentence has already been echoed many times, through many different media, whether printed, audiovisual, on social networks... But is this statement really true? First let's understand what leads to this statement.
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The amazon forest
The Biggest Forest in the World! In fact, this information, when incomplete like this, is untrue, the correct statement would be that the Amazon Forest is the Largest Tropical Forest in the world! This is because, despite being huge, it is not the largest, but rather the Boreal Forest or Taiga. To give you an idea of the majesty that is Taiga, it is up to 3 times the size of the Amazon Rainforest! Although it is not large, it is without a doubt monstrous in its size, measuring more than 7km² in length, covering 7 Brazilian states, and 9 more Latin American countries. And what is not lacking in the Amazon Forest is Biodiversity, of Fauna and Flora.
The Amazon Forest is responsible for generating about 20% of the world's Oxygen! Due to the great concentration of Trees in its dense forest. And would that configure her as the lung of the world?
Is the Amazon Rainforest the Lungs of the World?
No! Although it is responsible for alone producing 1/5 (one fifth) of the Planet's oxygen, it is also responsible for consuming almost all of it. This is because plants produce their food during the day through photosynthesis, however, at night to generate energy they use this oxygen to breathe. Understand how plant respiration works on here.
But if the Amazon Rainforest is not the Lungs of the World, then would it be the Taiga? No, for the same reason, although it is larger than the Amazon, it will consume almost all the oxygen it produces during the night, not to mention that the forest that produces the most oxygen is the Amazon, although it is not the largest.
The true “lung” of planet earth is actually seaweed. Algae are responsible for launching into our atmosphere about 55% of all the oxygen present in it. And unlike all plants, algae don't breathe this oxygen at night.
Sources of Atmospheric Oxygen:
- Seaweed – 54.7%
- Woods and forests – 24.9%
- Steppes, fields and pastures – 9.1%
- cultivated areas – 8.0%
- fresh water algae – 0.3%.
Importance of the Amazon Rainforest
Although she is not really the Lungs of the world what many say, she is still important, far from it! In fact, the Amazon forest alone has about 20% of all the freshwater available in the world. And not only that, all the wealth of animals and plants not yet discovered can hold the cure for various diseases that afflict us, that's just what has not been discovered, because several of the medicines we have today are already extracted from it.
It is also directly responsible for controlling our planet's climate, in addition to bringing moisture and with it rain to all of South America, so it is completely associated with the continent's rainfall regime. It can also be a great ally, or villain in controlling global warming, thus influencing the world's climate. This is because tropical forests store huge amounts of carbon gas, and the Amazon being the largest of them, is the one that stores the most. But why can she be both an ally and a villain? This is due to deforestation, the same trees capable of storing carbon gas also release it when it decomposes, that is, when deforested, the tropical forest also causes a greenhouse effect.
Anyway, did you know that the lungs of the planet were actually the Algae? And that forests are great stores of CO2, but can also be great emitters if deforested or burned? Comment!
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